Hong Kong – Hit cartoon character Ben 10 has turned five. Dulce Lim-Chen, Vice President of Cartoon Network Enterprises Asia Pacific, said at the franchise’s birthday celebration, “In the three animated series so far, Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, we’ve witnessed Ben and his aliens go from onscreen heroes to global, multiplatform icons.” Ben 10 has experienced five consecutive years of growth since bursting onto the scene in early 2008, achieving US$1 billion in toy sales globally. Last year, almost five million Ben 10 toys were sold in Asia Pacific alone. Voted one of the world’s Top 10 Boys’ Action brands in 2011, the action hero looks set to achieve more milestones in 2012. This year will see the release of Ben 10’s first CGI movie – Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens and sales of more than 300 million products are expected across the region.